title: In vivo characterization of the early states of the amyloid-beta network.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that is associated with the abnormal accumulation of amyloid-β. Much is known about regional brain atrophy in Alzheimer's disease, yet our knowledge about the network nature of Alzheimer's disease-associated amyloid-β accumulation is limited. We use stepwise connectivity analysis of Pittsburgh Compound B positron emission tomography images to reveal the network properties of amyloid-β deposits in normal elderly subjects and clinical patients with Alzheimer's disease. We found that amyloid-β accumulation in the medial temporal lobe is associated with accumulation in cortical regions such as orbitofrontal, lateral temporal and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortices in Alzheimer's disease. In normal subjects, there was a predominant association between amyloid-β deposits in the hippocampus and the midline prefrontal/orbitofrontal regions, even in those with very low amyloid-β burden. Moreover, the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala nucleus and hippocampus exhibit hub properties in the amyloid-β network that may be critical to understanding the putative spreading mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease pathology in early stages.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. sepulcre@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sepulcre
authors.forename: Mert R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sabuncu
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Reisa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sperling
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000814:Aniline Compounds; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D013844:Thiazoles
chemical_list: C475519:2-(4'-(methylamino)phenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D000814:Aniline Compounds; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D013844:Thiazoles; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; amyloid; early stages; graph theory; network